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About The Eugene City guard. (Eugene City, Or.) 1870-1899 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1880)
JBACDS OF THK TOWN. -t t i "Bl'SlNKEB AOBKCIKS? OF BAN FBASCIBCO. rTTHTRNf-It IX THAT CITY OP DENS OF INIQUITY THAT THK LAW HOES NOT BEACH. Belicvinir that you are in ignorance re garding the existence of some of the most glaring swindles that were ever per petrated upon the unsuspecting, i wse this means of contributing to tlie cata logue pro bono publico, knowing where of 1 speak, having, like hundreds of oth era, boon the victim of tlio wiles of a class of unscrupulous and designing men, who, under cover 01 o nion,... system presenting the phase of great plausibility, rob tho innocent of their all, and brazenly gloat over their victor ies knowing that tho law is powerless to reach their particular cases, so cunning ly are their transactions consumatod and covered up. I refer to a duns of men in this city who carry on what tliey term IllSINKSB AUKNC1EH, Located chiefly on Kearney, Montgom v n,l Mmki.t streets. 1 propose, with your permission, to expose tho huhUu vittramn ny which mv ui' - - war v. with nil tho details and embellish ments thoy employ in jKirpctrating tlieir swindles. Your readers will observe on either of the above streets a number of blackboards in doorways, tacked on which are a number of notices, some thing liko the following: U,n Opportunity. Purtncr wanted in a manufacturing business, clearing at present) a month, with a good pros pect of immediate increase. Business can Iw tried leforo purchasing. Trice ?7U0. Inquiro of , Business Agent, street. $800. A partner wanted with tho above amount. Excellent manufactur ing business-clearing 8250. Incoming jmi tnor to tuko chargo of tho books and attend to outsido business. A rare bar gain. Inquiro of , Ileal Estate and Bus'noss Agents. ts.rs ((. Partner wanted in a meat mar ket d ing a splendid business, and will guaruntco to each partner from 8100 to SIM i a month. Inquiro , etc. 150. Partner wanted in a light busi ness; will pay 8100 and upwards; rent low; no knowledge of tho business neces sary; first-class bargain. Call and get particulars, 81000. Partner wanted to attend to jdain accounts in a wholesale business clearing $150 to S'AK) per month each. Must be a sober, steady man. No hum bug. Saloon for sale. Good paying stand; cost three times tho price; only 300. In vestigation solicited -grand opportunity. 700. -Wood and Coal Yard, long es tablished and doing an excellent busi ness, centrally located, is olio red at the above price. Owner in ill-hoalth and must leave the city. Greatest bargain ever offered. Call and get particulars. Bakery for Kale. One of tho best stands iu the city for fcl 75. Owner must sell on account of departure; long estab lished and doing well. Bare bargain. Call at tho real estate and business ugeucy of These aro simply a few of tho more elaborately worded notices to bo found on theso black boards (and also in the newspapers), somo of them presenting most irresistible inducements to "call up stairs and examine" Theso notices are sandwiched bctwocn others Waring a a tinge of horn-sty viz: "Rooms to liet," "Furnished House for Rent," etc., designed especially to im pose upon the credulity of those honestly seeking business ami to give an air of probity to the business ''up stairs." We have now got the victim at the threshold of tho den. Dazzled by tho array of "opportunities," ho ascends the stairs, and is met witli a smiling face by the swindling proprietor, who tducos the vic tim en rupjHH t with him, Ins olllco ami surroundings almost immediately by a scriiw of desultory remarks ubout the "California climate," "business iu the city," etc., etc., winding up by saying "Ah, blows mo -ah you aro looking for a good business t" . "Yes," responds the victim, "I saw n uotico at your door of a partner wanted in a good manufacturing business." Swindler Ah, yes, I see, you want something substantial and permanent. Ah, Mr. (addressing a confederate at a desk who is busy writing for tho oc casion ou tho back of a blotting pad), did that party take that business last night? , . Confederate Ho did not close with me, but ho seemed very anxious for it. Ho will bo in ngaiu at a o'clock. (Ke suines his scribbling.) , Swindler A beautiful business, I as sure you, nh. Tho owuer doesn't care for the money, but he wants man who can attend to tho outside, and take au active interest in tho business. He seems busy all the year round, and I am aware from JxTsoliul kuowlcdgo that ho has mora orders thau he can turn out. I would advise you to investigate it. Ah, Mr. , do you think that party will 'tike it? Confederate I think so, sir. Swindler Too bad, but our principle, sir, is first come first served. If you ' have leisure, I will tako you down and see it, a I am going that way. It'll pay - you to look into it immediately. The victim is now completely over come by the prospect of an olegaut busi ness, and visions of a competency tbt f through his fevered imagination. Arrived at a dilupidab d building among the in B foundries in the southeastern part of the citr, the victim is conducted into a "shop," where three or four men (hired for the occasion) aro at work, steam up, and everything presenting a scene wf bustle and activity. There is no deny ing the fact that it looks businens-like, and is easily ealcnlatd to impress any oue with a sense of confidence. The 'proprietor" (generally tn uncouth 1. Hiking, illiterate mechanic, in collusion with Uio agent, of course), presents Inra elf, with alettes rolled up, dirty , suu k begrimed visage, and pnU and over shirt shining with the oil anJ dust of the ahop (the result, doubtlesa, ot year of wear, but not by their inwent oocupnt), and is introduced by the swindler to the victim. With telephonic accuracy the agent, by a st rie of winks and signs, conveys to the hard-working mechanic that this ia a good bite, but says "this gentleman has .n id. a of buying in with yon and would bke a little information." (I must here say this "busine" had all beta pre-arranged between the "me chanic and the swindler, and it is only during certain hours ia the day that otntim mnst be brought to the shop, for coal is dear, and it is quite in keen two or three wl.noln rrnincr all dttV. partlCU larly when victims are scarce). 1 no "swindler" now leaves tho victim to the tender mercies of tho "mechanic, wuo, in his ingenious mannor, begins a story of his business and its fine prospects, and for tho truth of his assertions he will allow Mr. Victim to converse with tho workmon. If Mr. V. is not gnlliblo, ho generally takes advontugo of the ofler, interviews the "soot-covered gentlemen and finds the "mechanic's" statement verified in every essential. A dirty cash book is shown, with totals invariably largo on the debit side, which at once assures the victim of tho profitableness of the business. (This book has been prepared for tho occasion and the entries are false). Aaingyoruur-i"v,i"'j'' t.nnui H.-h beside it. in which aniulti' plieity of hastily-written orders haye been entered, the ehirography purposely made almost indistinguishable, so as to give a sort of "rough-and-tumble hon esty" to it. Every devico which a ras cally brain can conceive is brought to bear upon tho victim and, after apparent ly satisfying himself that everything is us represented, pays his money, partner ship papers in due form are drawn up and signed, nr.d Mr. V' tim is now n full Hedged i: l::or in '.. manufacturing linn of "Mechanic, Victim A: Co." But a few days elapse before tho vic tim discovers the business suddenly dwindles. The "workmen" aro kept on for a week or tw o, and he is called upon for tlieir wages. If he is not flush, tho "workmen" quit, and then comes a series of discussions and squabbles between tho partners tho "meehunic" insisting that times have got suddenly dull, and that money must bo raised to "carry on tho business." That being impossible on the part of tho victim, who has placed all his resources into tho business, and nothing coming in, ho becomes disgust ed, oilers to sell out to Mr. Mechanic, but that gentleman knows a thing worth two of that, and politely declines. With Mr. Victim's money ho lives well, and loafs about the shop, in tho hopes that tho former will soon tiro out and leayo tho place for goi d-a result which iu nine cases out of ten proves successful. The goods (which have not boon steal thily taken out of tho shop by the Me chanic) aro worthless, and the victim, heartsoro and to prevent tho accumula tion of debt, sacrifices everything, and Mr. Mechanic is once more in possession. As soon as he is effectually rid of his vie tini.lio returns to his ugant, who places another advertisement in the paper, and tho operation is repented. Sometimes the swindlers run across an obstinate customer, and to prevent exposure they compromise with him. Hut as a general thing they aro successful in tho "freeze out" game. This, Messieurs F.ditors, is but one il lustration. I could mention many other businesses such as saloons, wood and coulyurds, branch bakeries, groceries, fruit stands, picture Irame stores, statues, book stands, match ami other factories, stands in markets, produce stores, meat markets, lamp stores, etc., etc., where tho same villainy and deception is prac ticed, ami where hundreds aro duped every week. If the owner of a business is honest in his desire for a partner, he is corrupted by these swindling agents, and induced to "put up a job" tofleeeo u victim. Here is an example: A saloon keeper applies to the agent to sell his business. Tho ngeut, after feeling his man and lining him not overscrupulous, gives him this programme. Soon as the proposition is entertained by a victim, word is sent to the saloon-keeper to distribute 810 or 815 among his friends, have them there at an arranged hour, when tho agent and customer appears. The caul rooms are filled with players, or "cappers," who lavishly spend their money for drinks, and the ducats rolling into tlio drawer in tho presence of the customer, of course creates the most favorable impression. He is informed that "tho business is not oven good to night; as a general thing, when there is no excitement on the streets, it is three times as good. Tuko something?" And so it goes on the victim, (although as tonished at tho cheapness of the place, and being assured that the present ow ner is to return Fast, having amassed enough to warrant him m retiring, which is tlie only reason for his mdliug at such a re- bleed figure) pavs his money, takes possession of the worthless place, and finds, before two days elapse, that the "shop's customers," as well as his money, have mysteriously vanished, and that he is egregiously sw nulled. The devices concocted by these rogues know n as real estate ami busi ness agent are ingenious and binding. Somo of them aro well educated, and will wheedle with a victim often for months before they finally "come down" on him. They do not confine themselves to outside business exclusively. They drive a good income by sellingeaeh other out, which is done iu this wise: A places an advertisement in the paper to sell 1), as follows: 'gSSO partner wanted - in a flourish ing real estate and business agency, chairing over :t00 per month. A genteel business, and short hours. No knowl edge of the Minio necessary. Man with some knowledge of the city preferred. Call immediately and examine books mid business." The books are of course fictitious, and the victim being continually under tho eye of the agent, there is generally no trouble in inveigling him. The most sccious sophistry is employed, but the agent never informs his new partner of the trickery and fraud necessary to be practiced to carry on the businessbut in the end, the victim, if he Ik- au honest man, sees it all, aud, to save his good name, gets out the Wst way he can al ways, i.f course, at a great sacrifice. One of theso agents on Kearny street docs a good business in simply getting partners for similar establishments to his own. Occasionally an agent is arrested (when the swindle is a very palpable O ic), but he is never convicted the the- y in law Wing that a man is supposed t buy with hia eyes open. It really look as if the law were crvated especially I for the benefit of these rogues, anif, ' knowing this, they prosecute tlieir "call ' ing" with enetvvand comiarative safety. ' It remains now for the newsitspers to I look into this nutter, and to expose, for the aake of the poor victims to come, the nefarious, damnable practice of the clasa of men stvling themselves "Ileal Estate and Linaineea Agencies." UolJen Ura. SHOUT ITEMS. In England the officer in charge of a railway train is "the guard." A sort of non-conductor, as it were. Hilvor plate is a good thing to have, but a plate of "Eastern raw" is at times more consoling. Homo of tho compliments we road about that are given to great men at banquets are only buttered toasts. Many a landlord who is bo weak he can hardly toddle is yet able to hold up tho heaviest kind of rents. A theatrical bill advertises "a local street in Han Francisco." Are there any foreign streets in San Fruncisco? Some philosopher has said that "money won't buy tho wag of a dog's tail." But it will buy many another wag. There are so many "self made" men this year that it seems n if Nature had sold out to a lot of bunglurs and quit business. It is said that matches are made in heaven. This is doubted, however, so far as female pedestrian matches aro concerned. "My darling," said he, "what a de licious taste your lipshave." She sprang up and yellell: "Goodness, John, have you been enting my lip-salve?" A negro constable in Virginia indorsed on summons ho had boen sent to serve on a lady: "This witness is sick in bado chile one week old." Note from tho diury of a swell: "I have observed that my habits aro very nlastin in one direction; I suspect I could live up to almost any income." General Grant's "response to the wel coming address" was a good enough little speech when it wus'now, but it is becoming somewhat worn in spots. There are1 high-livers who dwell on Nob hill, but thesamo may be said of thoso who live on Telegraph hill or even on Pike's peak. It is a mistake to think that all bald headed men have wives. Some men scratch out all tlieir hair trying to dig up a plan to get a wife. "Hell on Earth" is tho title of on Snppe's new opera. Tho scene will probably bo laid at Yuma, Arizona. Its author, of course, expects it will "play tho devil." I'iiiL'm ill, mi of k ill i ii cr criminal by electricity instead of hanging them was doubtless suggested by the fact that every man who receives a telegram is dispalchod. Ladv Roseberrv was "at home" to the members of tho Liberal Committeo of Midlothian, England, on tho iiSth of November. The newest style of dress boots places the buttons directly on the outside of the feet, and curve 'beautifully over the arch of the instep. If tho young ladies who wear the 'Derbv" hat realized how mannish it made them look, they would discard it. It is only suitable and pretty for school girls. Oueen Victoria's head-keeper at Bal moral has died. The Queen sat with his widow during the funeral services, and walked in tho procession behind tho collin. . Every dav brings out an increase of ITlster cloaks on the street. Those fitted slightly to the figure are moro or less elegant, while convenient and com fortable. Tn bull costumes the low corsairo is to bo retained, and as much display of neck and arms as is consistent with decency is to be made by our refined young ladies. The jauntiest jackets for young' girls nm imiiln of L'l'eiLin mid crab-colored cloths, with collars and cutis of olive green, garnet, gendarme blue or black velvet. Waterproof cloaks are made this win ter more nearly in the visito-Riicque shape, with dolman sleeves, und are trimmed with passementerie cold and ornnuents. The present furor in lingerie is for fichus, Bernhardt collarettes, and other fancy neck-dresses and sallron-tintod lace! trimmed with ribbou of the same tint, pale rose or blue ribbon. V.i.i. ut...t:inivu fiii- fmw'v ,1 rews lire of silk and Lisle thread, enriched with em broidery of silk und gold thread, or em broidery in the very minute gold and silver spangles, over the instep and ankle. Hannah Adams was the pioneer among literary women in America. She wrote a book entitled "View of all Beligions," which caused her to bo looked upon with curiosity, awe and dislike, as a woman monster. It is the fashion now wlihthe irreat dry goods firms in New York to havo a man m livery outsul.t to open carriage doors of arriving customers, and call coachmen for those customers about to depart. Dinner dresses ouen at the neck in oval shape, and a tiny chemisette, called iwxUsttf. is worn inside. It is of lace or embroidered muslin, and the ediro of the opening is trimmed w ith a tinting of white lace or crepe nsse; tne train and very tight sleeves have a w hite fiuish to correspond. Ainomr the novel ideas in contempla tion for the mask ball at the New York Academy, announced for itlie first week of the n cw year, are quadrilles made up of characters from H.imlet. The School forScandd, Fr Pi 'v do.Aida, or the works of Charles Dick no, A sinsll n u IT. mode in Puris for tie On (Mil of Italy, was of white satin, bor- dered with a double eoquille ruche of " - . . ... ; I-e and ornamented with a satin bow. T.iis little muff is soft and shaircv. balk ing like one of the long silky haired white dogs sometimes carried when driving in the Bois de Boulogne. A Gernan doctor declares that "early to Ik',1 and earlv to rise" is a delusion and a snare. He has discovered that those who indulge in late hours and lie abed the longest in tlie morning are the healthiest and live longer than those who "get up with the lark." German doctor have made some very remarkable dis coveries of late, and it will We surprising if one of theui doesn t soon announce that the best way t cure heavy cold is to get into a erspiration and then throw off some of your clothing and ait in a draught with your feet in a pail of cold waUr. Heitlnif Our Homes. Now that heating honses by furnaces is general, in accordance with tho sea son, greater attention than ever should be paid to the condition of the cellar. If the furnace can be compared to a human organism, it is in the cellar that it draws its breath. Tho common idea of purifi cation by means of heat does not hold good with the air in our homes. If the atmosphere in the cellar be vitiated, it will bo taken up by tho furnace and distributed as foul oir through the rooms. Now, as cellars ore, by untidy persons, too often made receptacles for einders and garbage, that combination is exactly offered which is the most danger ous, for it is heated air, which is not only tainted, but, in addition, it con tains an increased quantity of dust. Nothing is more permeable than air. Even without the help a furnace gives to carry up stairs tho bad air of tho cellar, rendered worse by being heated, the air from the cellar will naturally rise through all the floors of a houso. The necessity that a cellar should always be clean is thus advocated by Dr. Lincoln, of Boston: "No point of domestic econ omy is moro often neglected than that of the absolute neatness in the cellar story. The necessity of such neatness is pei fectly obvious in the case of a house warmed by a furnace, but it equally ex ists in houses where the cellar is unpro vided with this apparatus. In the case of a hospital, it is proper to exclude all kinds of stores from the cellars; nothing lint, fresh nir should bo kept in thorn. In the case of many dwelling houses, pub- halls, churches and schools, it is thought proper to admit air from tho cellar to the furnace-box in very com weather, with a view to economy. In a dwelling house it can rarely be prudent to do this, as most families must use the cellar for storing provisions." In a great many books written on this subject it will bo found that the ml vice is given to draw tho supply of air for the furnace from a certain height above the level of the ground, but, evon under these con ditions, if there is some escape from cor taiti disadvantages, others are found. One never can be absolutely sure of tho quality of the air taken outsido of a house; so, ufter all, under proper condi tions of olcanlincss, air from tho cellar is quite as good as that taken elsewhere. In heating a house with fm nice heat, the great thing is to maintain an equal temperature in tho rooms. Now, it is well known that, as heated air rises and old air descends, the upper regions are lot. while the lower are cold. In rooms where the furnaco nir is stagnant, an ab solutely different stratum of nir is found. It is better, then, to give cireiuuuou ami movement to tho air in every way. This eun 'not, of courso, be done by taking cold air from u window, but by occasion ally opening doors which lend to the en tries of the house. A door swung to ana fro sometimes does this. It looks as if it wore a very simplo thing to do, but fow seem to know that, bv having the heat to enter freely into the lowest stories of tho iouso during the winter nights and allowing the doors below to be wide opeu, the heat ascending will quickly warm tho walls ot the house ana save a notable amount of fuel for tho next cold lav. There can bo no doubt that, although u furnaco is one of tho necessa ry evils of our present condition of American civilization, that it is, never theless, deleterious to health, and the most expensive method of wanning which can be found. The great difference be- wecu a direct fire and warmed air or m- rect hent arises from the manner in which tho objects, such as the walls of a louse, are warmed. One most trouble some ellect ot lurnace-iieat is, mat it abstracts more moisture from the human body than docs a direct lire, and tho con sequence is that a high temperature evaporation from the body apparently ools the inmate of a furnace-heated room. As to the uso ot nrtinciai mois ture iu a room, its advantages are well known, but it is something which can never be regulated with accuracy, for, if in excess, such saturated atmosphere tends to become oppressive. Somewhere between 70 degs., and never higher than 71 degs., are about tho limits of heating a room, though to many the latter torn- o rut urc is insupportable, outside of Russia. We can stand more artificial heat in these Northern and Middle States than anywhere else. There has been a great deal written of late on the filtering orequdation of carbonic acid gas and oxide of carbon through the pores of red- hot cast iron, such ns forms tho heating surface of stoves, mid a remedy has been proposed by using wrought-tron in its stead. But this seems to lie rather a luestiou as to the capacity of the draft in the stove. If noxious qualities there are. emanating from a red-hot surface, it is more reasonable to suppose that they arise from the particles of matter ever in suspension in the air being absolutely burned by contact. Tho peculiar odor arising in a room wlcre there is a large incandescent surface, is known as a burned smell. It must be stated that, though hardly available yet iu private houses, air heated by hot water or steam pipes presents a great many advantages, though ventillation is one of the neces sities of this system, the perfection of a house in winter, where the means will allow it, is to have the halls heated by a furnace, while dining and drawing rooms have still tlieir grate for coal or their fire-place for wood, and where ventilation has not Wen forgotten. Modern conve niences, iu more than one respect, have rendered the house at the close of the ninetoecnth century less wholesome than it was ono hundred years ago. Ever since Kuuiford, tho experiment has Wen going on to devise a method to utilize the greater proportion of the caloric to be derived f roiu a pound of fuel. It ui;iy seeni not in accordance with the dictates of common sense to try and heat the hu man body as if it were a steam boiler, nnder the siipponition that increased vital energy would be devcloied,jnst as in steam. Looking over a table of amount of heat, as rendered by various appa ratus, while an ordinary furnace give 0.10 s the percentage of utilized heat, improved fire-place show 0.3;!, while stoves give from 0.D3 to 0.68. With fur nace the range is from 0.80 toO.ftl; with heating by warm water, between 0.S5 to O.fht. Save for ordinary and improved fire places, tho general comment of experts is that all the rest "are not good ft health." A knitting-needle of lightning couldn't strike endwise in Lead v ill e without knocking down a ball dozen president of mining companic. Wonderful Wcaltb. Some excitomonU are being created among the Mexican population of Phamix by the story of a Mexican who arrived recently from Keno mountains. He came into town under cover of dark ness, as he was nearly naked. His hands and feet wore torn and bloody, and his face was gashed in a terrible manner. His story was told with the nir of a man who had been terribly frightened and ahd not recovered. With a companion he started out prospecting about a niontn ago, going up Salt River. They left the river when opposite the Superstitions mountain. Their prospecting began at this point. While climbing rip the mountain, in a little gully, though black sand, and down which a large stream of water hod evidently passed years ago, they were astonished to find that m this sand were large quantities of tine gold. In somo places the sand was only obout half an inch deep over the granite. The gold, in pieces the Bize of a bean and smaller, was found in the little fissures in the faco of tho bed rock. Very little washing was necessary, and they found a littlo spring of water which furnished them with what they needed. They obtained, they think, about $000 worth in half a day's work. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon they wero surprised to see an lndiam woman come to the top of the gulch above the spring and start to come down. Upon seeing them sho ran back over tho hill again. In less than ten minutes they were surrounded by fifty or sixty savages. The Indians were very small and seemed to be of a different nature than they had ever seen in Arizona. The Mexicans were not armed except with knives, and the sur veyor says they are almost instantly oaught with lariats. The Indians took them up the mountains and put them in a cave. They tortured and killed his companion, and his fate would havo boon tho same but for his escape. He suc ceeded in getting away with only a few knife gashes on his face. They lost their gold with all their outfit. Tho Indians seemed to bo cave dwellers; and wero evidently excited over the place being found by outsiders. Our reporter's limited knowledge of the Spanish language makes it impossible for us to obtain all tho particulars of tho affair. For the benefit of non-residents wo will say that Superstitious mountain derives its name from tho fact that no white man has ever been seeu again who attempted its ascension. It is a tradition among the Mexicans that large deposits of free gold arc to be found in its gulches and ravines. It is not known whether thero is any water there or not. Phwuix Arizona) Herald. Some English Habits. Most Englishmen of tho lower middle class and tho lowor class in cities havo a way of walking which is a distinguishing habit of common life. I had observed it in Englishmen of this sort in the streets of New York, where I could tell them by it. us fur as I could se3 them. They lay themselves out in their walking, as if thev wero doing a days work, ihey walk not only with their feet and legs, lmt. with their bios and their shoulders and their arms, not swinging tho latter, but arching them out more or less from their sides, and putting them forward stillly as they step. Withal they look conscious of their walking, and Boom well pleasod that they are doing the cor rect tiling. This gait und carriage of body is most remarkable in the soldiers that one sees about the streets of London of garrison towns liko Canterbury, and in tho vulgar creature who has como to bo known by tho generic nanio 'Arry. Yon will meet two soldiers tightened up to tlio extreme of endurance in their scar let shell jackets, with little fiat caps so far down tho sides of their heads that j ou cannot see why they hesitate at coming down all tho way, aud these two fellows, ono of whom is pretty sure to carry a rattan with a jaunty air, will take up the room of threo men by the set-out of their four arms from their four sides, und will walk as if their locomotion, instead of being by human muscles, were by clock work aud Bteam. Tho number of their imitators cannot bo told; but an English gentleman hasuoneof this toilsome swag ger. He walks quito easily and uncon sciously, and generally with a good, manly stride, jnst as a man of corre sponding condition of life in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia will walk. But in those places you will not seo in persons of inferior condition thatstrauge mode of locomotion which I have endeav ored to describe. Gentlemen iu England have a very general fashion of wearing rings in what seemed to me a very lady-like way. A signet ring, eugraved with a cipher, a crest, or a beautiful design, seems titand becoming upon the hand of a man who can afford to keep it clean and out of dan ger of knocks and blows. Nor aro we unaccustomed to see examples of annular gorgeousness notably vast amethysts upon hands which nro not cared for. But this is not tho ring-wearing of gen tlemen in England. There, small rings set with stones are in favor. Diamonds set iu heavy hoops, rubies as eyes in the heads of golden snakes which coil three or four times around the tiuger, dia monds and rubies, diamonds and rap phires, iu alternation, are seen upon the tiugers of most of the men who are above the lower middle ehiss noblemen, cler gymen, army officers, university dons, hard-headed! men of affairs, merchants. Not one ring only; indeed, a single rin3 upon a man's hand is rather exceptional. Yon shall see a big fellow with big. brown hands, or an elderly man of staid business habits, with three or even four jeweled rings upon his fingers; not un freqnentlv there will be two njMin one ringer. Tlie turquoise is in great favor the most unmanly and wonian-proper of all precious stones, in my judgment; most suitable to the fairest anil softest of the sex. It is frequently alternated with the diamond on a heavy hoop, a wide space being left between the rtone. The fash'on impressed me as quite incon gruous with manly dignity and simphc ity. But perhaps this was merely be cause 1 was unaccustomed to it. I know that 1 saw a man with a diamond nng and a plain hoop on one finger, a tur quoise on another, and a ruby -eyed snake whoae coils covered one joint of a third, whom I knew to be a gentlemaa, and bad good reason to believe thoroughly a man If these men had not been of my own blood and speech I idinnl.l nnt titrc ! thorgbt this habit remarkable; but thus i it strikes a stranger wbn is net yet a for eigne r. J tHani Atlantic. Calcraft, the Hangman. The noted executioner Calcraft, wha for forty-six years held the olllce of hangman in England, is dead. There ia a stream in the suburbs of London known to jaunting clerks and holiday making schoolboys as the rivor Lee where cockney youths take their adequate diversion on Saturday afternoons during the summer months. On the days when the river was doserted, o lean, pensive and clerical person would frequent the banks, a book in one hand, a fishing rod in tho other. It was Calcraft, the hang man. Where he came from, who he was why he had chosen his particular profes sion, nobody ever knew. Legend had it that he was a convict, who had been par doned on tho condition that ho would adopt the' executioner's profession. Others averred that ho had embraced it through a certain morbid love of death. Calcraft never botrayed his Bocret, and all biographies of the man are fictitious. This alone is certain, that ho has execnt, ed, with punctuality and dispatch, some of the most noted criminals of the century. He entered tho business in 1833, about fifty years after the Tyburn tree had been removed, and the gallows wag set up almost every Monday morn ing in the narrow passage bntween Fleet street and Ludgate hill, known as a-i !he Old Bmloy. He first came in public notoriety at the hanging of James Green acre in 1837. This mad had murdered V Hannah Brown, a woman to whom he had beai engaged to bo married, and then had cut the body into pieces and hidden portions of it in various parts of London, the trunk being placed under a sack anil concealed behind some flag stones icar the Pineapple toll bar, in Edgewaro road. Ho confessed that Hannah Brown had deceived him by pretending to have Borne property, and that ono night she callod at his lodgings and lauffhed at her trick. In a rage lie struck her with a silk roller, and, the blow proving mortal, he formed tho reso lution of cutting up and concealing the body. ' No criminal case sinco the trial of Dr. Dodd had stirred so much excite ment in London. On tho night of Grecnaore's execution hundreds of per sons slept ou tho steps of the prison and of St Sepulchre's Church, and boys re mained all night clinging to the lamp posts. And crowds in the streets whiled away tlie night in ribald jokes and drunken brawls. Greouacro, when he passed to tho gallows, was totally un manned. He could not articulate the response to tho ordinary, and had to bo supported or he would have fallen. Greenecre's execution brought fame to Calcraft. Ho did not rest long on his laurels. Three years later he was called to carry out tho senteuco of tho law on Francois Benjamin Courvoisier, a Swiss valet, found guilty of the murder of his master, Lord William llussell. Lord William, who was in his seventy-third year, lived nlono in his houso in Nor folk Btreet, Park Lane, with his estab lishment of two maids and of Courvoisier, the body servant. ' On the morning of the murder tho household fouud his study in disorder, and, entering his bed room with Courvoisier, saw that his head was nearly severol from his body; Two bank notes, supposed to have doeu taken from Lord William's body, were found behind the skirting board of the butler's pantry. These notes convicted Cour voisier. He was hanged on J uly 6,1840. Upward of twenty thousand people were present at the scene. Most of them waited all night at the debtor's door of the Old Bailey. High fees were paid for the house roofs and the windows were crowded. As the bell began to toll at 8 o'clock the multitude uncovered, and at two minutes past tho hour Courvoisier ascended the steps leading to tho drop, followed by the executioner and ordinary of tho prison. Ho died without a struggle. Tho ease of his death was universally attributed to Calcraft 's skill. A new genius had risen in tho business. .Tack Ketch, of Tyburn, was outdone. For twenty-four years Calcrait continued to win the applause of press and people. Not confining his exertions to Newgate, ho traveled iu the wake of the Judges ronnd tlieir circuits. Ho has executed seven pirates together and performed his work with entire satisfaction. He hanged the three Fenians at Manchester, and showed extreme contempt for the anonymous threats that wero made against his life. In 1804 he hanged Franz Mailer, a young German tailor who, to pay his passage to America, murdered Mr. Briggs in a carriage ou the North London Railway. On the night that Muller died there was a dis graceful Bceno around Newgate. The house was filled with spectators, who had paid moro that a couple of guineas apiece for a place, und who spent the night at playing cards aud singing choruses. When Muiler set foot on the scaffold, he looked up at the chains with perfect self-possession. Then he mur mured a confession to the attendant clergyman, and the drop fell instantly. These were three great criminals of Cal craft's career Greenacre, Courvoisier and Muller. In 18U8 public executions were abolished, and the hangman's glory was departed. The gallows was hence forth erected in tho prison yard of New gate, and only silence reigned on the spot which had seen the executions of Gov. Wall, w ho flogged a man to death; of Bellingham, Mr. Pcrcivol's assassin; of the Cato street conspirators, whose heads were cut off on the scaffold after they were hanged; of Fauntleroy, tlie banker, and of Bishops and Williams, the "bnrkcrs." Calcraft soon retired from a business which was rapidly fall ing in popular esteem, and Marwood.his lieutenant, succeeded him. Sew York Herald. Colored cotton flannel is used for tidies and sofa pillows. Anfnner square of a light shade, with a darker border, is a pretty style. In the tidies corner pieces of a contrasting shade may be ia troduced into the jorder. Saxony wool is for knitting the edges for skirts, jackets, gaiters, etc. It is fine and strong and pliable. The Shetland wool is nsed for clouds, the single zephyr for little children's hoods and split zephyr for scrap bags. Miss Tocnms, a school-teacher at Kittitas alley, W. T., has taken up a ! land claim, fenced it, built a bouse, and tliM Tear raivnl 612 bnshfds nf crin he- sides teaching school. She savs she , does not mean to marry until she can support a husband.